When I first thought about sharing this day on our blog, sometime earlier this afternoon, I figured I would just share the little excursion that Lachlan and I took. One of the things that I really wanted to do on my day was to spend a bit of time on Sydney Harbour. We have had a wonderful stretch of glorious weather for the last week or so, and the Harbour is just stunning at a time like this. I had an image of walking along by the Royal Botanic Gardens, sitting on the grass and watching the boats, enjoying a picnic lunch. Of course, Rick and the girls are busy with work and school during a weekday (for the record, as Rick would ask me to add, he is taking me to lunch on Friday to celebrate my birthday). But having them along would have made it different- less about me and exactly what I imagined, and more about the compromise for the greater family good!
Lachlan, however, on his own, is a great companion for this type of excursion. He happily sits quietly in a stroller and watches the world go by. He adores his mother. He says cute, funny things that make me laugh, and that remind me to connect with that joy inside myself. He has a beautful innoncence that has not yet been tainted by interaction with the "real world", and I love to observe the world from his wonder-filled perspective.
So, I did just what I wanted to do. We took the train to Darling Harbour so that I could break my annual Lenten "sweets and desserts" fast, and I got a scrumptious fudge sundae at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe before I even ate my lunch. Then we took the ferry out onto the Harbour and went around to Circular Quay and we had our walk and picnic, just as I had envisioned it would be. The sun sparkling on the water, the world famous view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, the lush green grass of the gardens, the shade of a grand tree, a delightful son marveling at a beautiful tropical bug that he found on my shirt. God is good. I celebrated how blessed I was to be born to this earth, and to be so blessed in my life.
But then, life comes full circle.
I drove directly from the train station to pick up the girls from school, and discovered that Rick was there at a time when I would expect him to be in the office. Turns out that he had come home late morning to be with me when I received an email from Cheshire, one that we had known would someday come, but that we never wanted to receive. Our dear, dear collie MacAllister, who was a cherished member of our family, and the most gentle, loyal, loving companion for all of us, had died.
We shared our grief at leaving him behind in the US in our January 8, 2007 post. Just last week, Erin's topic for her news presentation in class was MacAllister. We loved getting news of his adventures (such as they were in his advanced age!) in his blog, and we always had the sense that he was still hovering right under the dinner table.
We are so grateful to Alison and Matt for giving him such a wonderful "retirement" home in his last year. He was blessed to stay amongst many people in our Cheshire church who had a special place for him in their hearts. Thank you, Alison and Matt, for loving him and leading him in his final journey.
And so I end this entry that begins with a life celebration, with the memory and images of a life well-lived, and truly, well-loved.
Anne
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